Canadian organization marks 30 years saving species at risk

This month, Wildlife Preservation Canada is celebrating 30 years of dedication to saving Canadian wildlife at risk. Founded in 1985 by by internationally-noted naturalist and author, the late Gerald Durrell, Wildlife Preservation Canada is the only non-government organization in Canada to perform direct, hands-on recovery work – such as captive breeding, translocation, or reintroduction – with multiple species in various projects across the country.

Wildlife Preservation Canada’s track record includes the reintroduction of the swift fox to Canada after a sixty-year absence – one of the world’s most successful reintroductions of a canid species. The organization was also the first to achieve migratory returns with captive-bred songbirds, and helped increase the migratory return rate of captive-bred burrowing owls to British Columbia fivefold in just a few years. It has received multiple awards and in 2013 was named one of Canada’s top seven environmental charities by Charity Intelligence.

Despite these successes, the list of endangered species in Canada grows longer every year. Studies have shown that world wildlife populations have been reduced by half in just the last 40 years, and many experts are declaring that the planet’s sixth mass extinction event is already underway.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Wildlife Preservation Canada is calling on Canadians to take action by launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise urgently needed funds. The campaign “Going, Going, Gone? Save Endangered Species” aims to raise $30,000 over 30 days to help save three species at risk. The first $10,000 will help raise and release ten burrowing owls; the second $10,000 will help save 200 threatened turtle hatchlings; and the final $10,000 will help raise and release 1,000 endangered butterflies. The campaign starts October 1, 2015 and offers a number of rewards for contributors, including tickets to the organization’s 30th Anniversary Celebration on November 18, 2015.

Wildlife Preservation Canada is devoted to saving highly endangered animal species facing imminent extinction in Canada – species whose numbers in the wild are so low that a great deal more than habitat protection is required to recover them. Working in collaboration with other organizations and expert Species Recovery Teams, all of Wildlife Preservation Canada’s interventions are guided by scientific research and field data. Wildlife Preservation Canada is currently working with over twenty mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird, and insect species in projects ranging from Nova Scotia to BC’s Gulf Islands. For more information, please visit wildlifepreservation.ca

Website made possible by a grant from

About Us

Wildlife Preservation Canada saves animals on the brink of extinction. Since 1985, we’ve been saving critically endangered species – species whose numbers in the wild are so low that a great deal more than habitat protection is required to recover them.